“By the Waters of Babylon” By Stephen Vincent Benet Study Guide Unit 3 Literary Terms “By the Waters of Babylon” By Stephen Vincent Benet Study Guide

Literary Terms Term Definition Notes First-Person Point of View Narration of a story by the main character First-person narrator uses the pronouns “I” and “our” Second-Person Point of View A way of writing that directly addresses the reader Refers to the readers with pronouns “you” and “your” Third-Person Limited Point of View Narration of a story by someone who is not a character, but who focuses on the thoughts and feelings of one character Readers do NOT know the thoughts/feelings of the minor characters Omniscient Point of View The position of a narrator who is not a character in the story but who knows the thoughts and feelings of all the characters Omniscient means “all knowing”

Literary Terms Term Definition Notes Flashback An account of an event or a conversation that happened before the beginning of a story A narrator recalling what it was like to grown up in a big family might include a flashback about a childhood birthday. Foreshadowing The use of hints to build suspense about what will happen next A writer might describe dark clouds in the distance as foreshadowing of a thunderstorm that ruins a picnic Context Clues Hints about a word’s meaning from the surrounding words Jordan must be frugal when she shops because she doesn’t have much money. – frugal means “careful about spending” Infer To make a guess or judgment based on evidence or past experience Whenever I hear a crash in the kitchen, I infer that someone has dropped a glass.

Literary Terms Term Definition Notes Analyze To examine in detail You must analyze a problem in order to understand its cause. Narrator the voice that tells the story The narrator of this mystery novel is the detective who solves the case. Influence (verb) To have an effect upon Campaign speeches influence voters. Root (noun) A word part that contains the core meaning of the word The word predict contains the Latin root -dict, which means “tell” or “say.” Reflective Essay An essay in which the writer shares personal experiences and observations An author might write a reflective essay about his fear of heights.